Story of Thibodaux massacre brings tears

Published: Monday, July 24, 2006 at 6:01 a.m.

Last Modified: Monday, July 24, 2006 at 10:42 a.m.

It is always an honor for me to pay homage to these men who died in past and present wars. I take pleasure in recognizing those men who died on the battlefield.

But as an African-American, I must be candid to say, I also pay respect to my ancestors who paid a price with their lives to give me and my descendants a better life. I pay special homage to those men and women who were killed in the massacre known as the Thibodaux Massacre of 1887, the second bloodiest labor dispute in U.S. history.

At the time, sugar-cane workers were being paid $13 a month or 43 cents a day. Some were given a script which was basically a coupon that was only redeemable at the company store usually owned by the plantation owners. So truly, the worker was nothing more than a slave because he was always in debt to the plantation owner.

In late October of 1887 the La. Sugar Producerís Association, an organization which included local sugar planters, wanted to eliminate the script and increase wages and payment every two weeks. The planters rejected their demands.

In late November 1887 the organization scheduled a strike. Workers in Lafourche, Terrebonne and St. Mary parishes refused to work. The sugar planters were faced with losing their crops to a freeze if the strike persisted. On the day of the strike, the planters called on Gov. McEnery, a plantation owner, who ordered the state militia to the region. The militia worked with the local judges and evicted the strikers from the plantations.

In a matter of days the strike generated into a race war. Workers and their families were rounded up by vigilantes and told to run for their lives. In the end, 300 black workers were killed. And that is a conservative number. I often ask myself, how could a man have an odious nature to shoot another man down in cold blood? What type of person could kill an unarmed innocent people for nothing but a stalk of sugar cane? I ask myself, how could this happen in Thibodaux? Is a mea culpa needed from the state? I say yes. Iíve taken copious notes on this incident because it hits close to home -- literally.

And for me, I recognize the hardships my ancestors endured. Yet with God they made it. I could see it today, black men, women and children running frantically in the streets of Thibodaux and being shot down like rabbits in a forest, yet they somehow, some way, survived as a people. Of that I am proud as a peacock. Through it all, they survived. My grandmother who lived to be 100 years old had heard of this massacre as a young adult; when she told me about it, tears came to her eyes, then she said, "still we made it through with God."

<p>It is always an honor for me to pay homage to these men who died in past and present wars. I take pleasure in recognizing those men who died on the battlefield.</p><p>But as an African-American, I must be candid to say, I also pay respect to my ancestors who paid a price with their lives to give me and my descendants a better life. I pay special homage to those men and women who were killed in the massacre known as the Thibodaux Massacre of 1887, the second bloodiest labor dispute in U.S. history.</p><p>At the time, sugar-cane workers were being paid $13 a month or 43 cents a day. Some were given a script which was basically a coupon that was only redeemable at the company store usually owned by the plantation owners. So truly, the worker was nothing more than a slave because he was always in debt to the plantation owner.</p><p>In late October of 1887 the La. Sugar Producer’s Association, an organization which included local sugar planters, wanted to eliminate the script and increase wages and payment every two weeks. The planters rejected their demands.</p><p>In late November 1887 the organization scheduled a strike. Workers in Lafourche, Terrebonne and St. Mary parishes refused to work. The sugar planters were faced with losing their crops to a freeze if the strike persisted. On the day of the strike, the planters called on Gov. McEnery, a plantation owner, who ordered the state militia to the region. The militia worked with the local judges and evicted the strikers from the plantations.</p><p>In a matter of days the strike generated into a race war. Workers and their families were rounded up by vigilantes and told to run for their lives. In the end, 300 black workers were killed. And that is a conservative number. I often ask myself, how could a man have an odious nature to shoot another man down in cold blood? What type of person could kill an unarmed innocent people for nothing but a stalk of sugar cane? I ask myself, how could this happen in Thibodaux? Is a mea culpa needed from the state? I say yes. I’ve taken copious notes on this incident because it hits close to home -- literally.</p><p>And for me, I recognize the hardships my ancestors endured. Yet with God they made it. I could see it today, black men, women and children running frantically in the streets of Thibodaux and being shot down like rabbits in a forest, yet they somehow, some way, survived as a people. Of that I am proud as a peacock. Through it all, they survived. My grandmother who lived to be 100 years old had heard of this massacre as a young adult; when she told me about it, tears came to her eyes, then she said, "still we made it through with God."</p><p>Troy Johnson</p><p>Chauvin</p>